On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Amnesty International issued a statement urging the international community to demand the immediate release of Warisheh Moradi and Pakhshan Azizi, two women activists currently at risk of execution in Iran.
Amnesty highlighted the grave danger facing Azizi and Moradi, both of whom belong to Iran’s marginalised Kurdish minority, emphasising their imminent threat of execution.
Azizi, a humanitarian aid worker, is being punished solely for her efforts to assist women and children displaced by the Islamic State (ISIS). Moradi, a member of the East Kurdistan Free Women Society (KJAR), is facing the death penalty following an unjust and biased trial.
In the wake of the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi, (Woman, Life, Freedom) uprising, Iran’s authorities, according to Amnesty International, have escalated their use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression, particularly against women detained on politically-motivated charges.
In a deeply moving open letter from prison, Moradi and Azizi had revealed that during their detention, they were subjected to physical and psychological torture, death threats, and gender-based violence.
Similarly, Kurdish activist Sharifeh Mohammadi, also at risk of execution, shared that she faced severe pressure while in custody and was charged with accusations she firmly denies. Amnesty International has strongly called on Iranian authorities to immediately abandon any plans for their execution and to release them without conditions.
